Friday, April 25, 2014

CARPENTER BEES AND HORNTAIL WASPS

Carpenter Bees:

It is Carpenter Bee season and this year
more than often than last year, they are spotted buzzing around homes and back yards worrying many. But fear
not, as Carpenter Bees are more a friend than a foe.

There are over 500 species of Carpenter
Bees (Xylocopa) that can be found throughout the world. In California
and Marin the California Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa Californica) nest in
trees and wooden structures. Carpenter Bees do not feed on wood like termites
but forage on pollen like their common honeybee counterparts. They are easily
recognized by their dark shiny charcoal black color with a beautiful
well-rounded body. They are often noticed during the warm season from early
spring to late fall when we see them flying around our structures and back yards
busy preparing their nest for winter. Males are the same color and shape but do
not have a stinger and never attack, while female carpenter bees do have a
stinger but will only defend themselves and their nest when provoked.

Nesting and Infestations:

Carpenter Bees carve a large hole opening that leads to one
main channel with several small alcove chambers each housing one egg. Six to 8
eggs are laid in the fall where they remain dormant all winter. The eggs will
hatch and the bees will exit the wood the following spring. The eggs closest to
the surface will exist first allowing the deepest laid eggs to hatch and exit
last. To this day, it remains a great mystery to entomologists how the first
eggs laid in the rear chambers are the last ones to hatch, while the last eggs
laid will hatch first. Most homeowners will notice pencil like fine shavings
(or frass) below the holes where the bees carve the wood to create their
galleries and chambers within wood members. We often see them in trim boards,
rafter tails, roof fascias, arbors, pergolas and other exposed wood members.
Carpenter bees will infest any type of softwood including redwood and cedar
wood members,

Carpenter Bees are pollinators and contribute greatly to the
local ecosystem. They are not considered a major structural pest like termites
or wood boring beetles as homeowner usually find them annoying and will try to
get rid of them before wood members can be severally damaged. They can also be
often found in dead trees and woodpiles, fences, sheds, balconies and decks.
Carpenter Bees are mostly solitary insects, sometimes living in small groups
with mothers, daughters or related siblings living nearby but not sharing the
same nest holes. Left alone they will not be aggressive and can become a fun or
annoying distraction.

Preventing and Eliminating
Carpentar Bee Infestations:

Carpenter Bees being indigenous to California,
the best is to prevent infestations through preventative maintenance and treat
when necessary.

4)Seal
cracks and openings in the eaves and siding, especially at pipes, cables and
other protrusions.

5) Call a beekeeper to
remove and relocate the infested wood member if possible, thereby allow bees to
continue pollinating somewhere else.

6) Otherwise call us for a treatment to the galleries and plugging the holes with epoxy wood
filler. We use epoxy over bondo type material that bees can remove
to continue their business.

Horntail Wasps

The horntail wasps are rare in
structures and at 1 to 1.5” inch long with an additional ¾” long stout
ovipositor (egg-laying device) Horntail Wasps appear more ominous than they
really are.

There is about 20 species of
Horntail Wasps form the Siricdae family and while adults do not eat
wood, their larvae do. Some species have beautiful colors ranging from brightly
color metallic blue to yellow, red and black. Some lay eggs into hardwood but
most favor softwood such as pine. The infestation starts in dead and burned
trees after a forest fire where the female likes to lay her eggs. Once the tree
is harvested, cut into lumber and used in construction, the dormant eggs can
hatch if the wood is not kiln dried to kill the eggs and larvae. The larvae
will molt and the adults emerge several years later sometimes scaring occupants
of a structure. Fortunately these insects don’t re-infest structures and no treatment
is needed. When Horntail Wasps emerge they seek to go outside and homeowners
should simply let them go out and caulk and paint the exit hole left behind.

There are basically five levels of termites: the worker, the soldier, the reproductive, the king, and the queen. Each distinctive level has its own duties when it comes to the colony. Termites have long been referred to as “little white ants”, and there are a few – very few – similarities between the two species.

The subject of Termite Control has been covered intensively by the world press over the past decade. In depth analysis of Termite Control can be an enriching experience. While much has been written on its influence on contemporary living, Termite Control is featuring more and more in the ideals of the young and upwardly mobile. Inevitably feelings run deep amongst the upper echelons of progressive service sector organisations, whom I can say no more about due to legal restrictions. At the heart of the subject are a number of key factors. I plan to examine each of these factors in detail and and asses their importance.

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I've seen these holes pictured in the article in houses I've been in before. I never knew that they were caused by termites. I'm going to be really looking around my home to see if I have any of these holes in my ceiling or wall.http://www.snowballpestcontrol.com/termite-control

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I was rearranging my furniture in anticipation of my family coming in for the holidays. I moved my couch and noticed a giant hole in the wall that wasn't there before I ever put the couch there. In no way did I ever think that I would have a pest issue in my house.

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About Me

Marin Termite Control is a local family owned & operated pest control company. We have been serving Marin county since 1971 and provide quality pest inspections without any catchy marketing gimmicks or misleading information. We aim to provide rapid service, clear reports and effective pest solutions through recommendations and complete and local treatments